Promise
by SnowLaughter
Summary: While in a strange forest, Spirou and Fantasio get separated from each other. Now Fantasio has to find the young redhead. But when he finds him, things only get worse.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! How long has it been since I've last uploaded anything :o this is actually my second Fanfiction! I wasn't going to post this story at first, I've wrote this completely for myself about two or three years ago… but recently I've fallen into the Asterix fandom. I've got in contact with a wonderful writer, and she really wanted to read this story. That was a huge motivation! I'm still rewriting everything but I will post what I have now.  
I've decided that Fantasio calls Spirou 'Spi' sometimes. I don't know if he does that, since I've only read the Dutch comics and Spirou's name in Dutch is 'Robbedoes'. Well, enough of me talking, Enjoy :D **

**I do not own any of the characters named below.**

"Spirou! Spirou, where are you?" Fantasio ran through the maze like forest, in search of his younger friend. Spirou had gone further up ahead, although it was unclear to Fantasio why.  
In the time he had been alone, he had set up a camp. There he'd waited. Pretty long to be honest, hoping that the stubborn redhead would return soon.

"Nice Spirou, leaving me here while you go who knows where…" He thought when he sat by his self-made camp, when suddenly a great feeling of unease overtook him. This feeling had drove him half insane just sitting there, he had to do something. Something was wrong.

"Spirou!" He yelled again. 'Spirou, come on where are you?' The further he ran. The more nervous he got. That feeling of dread was still very strong, which made him only got faster. Once again he yelled his friends' name, and once again he didn't get anything in response. Fantasio's legs almost didn't want to cooperate anymore because of that annoying feeling.

But then, right at the moment Fantasio was about to have a panic attack, the redhead came into view. He was sitting against a tree and it looked like he was sleeping.

"Spirou!" Fantasio ran to his friend with effort, his legs tired of running for so far. Spirou's eyes were indeed closed, and that somehow worried Fantasio immensely. Spirou wouldn't just fall asleep like that. What worried him as well, was the large gash on Spirou's right arm that went on to his side. The cut was deep, and it was bleeding quite a bit, shading Spirou's already red shirt a hint darker. ' _Oh no…'_ Fantasio thought, slightly touching the area around the wound. This made Spirou jump up. He looked around in panic, his eyes not really focusing that well. "Hey, hey Spi calm down." Fantasio grabbed Spirou's shoulder and shook him softly. Spirou finally looked at him, although it seemed that it took him great effort to do so. "Fantasio?" Spirou asked, his voice almost a whisper. "Hey Spi." Fantasio smiled at the confused expression on his friends face. With the man's help, Spirou sat up a bit more. Now the light of the sun was shining on his face. He enjoyed the warmth a bit though, letting his eyes slip close again. Fantasio however, now had a better look of his friend, and he wasn't happy with what he saw. Spirou had no colour left in his face, and there were light circles under his eyes. "Fantasio?" Spirou asked again, but gasped as he accidentally moved his arm. His other arm went to his head.

"What happened to you? Are you okay?" Fantasio tightened his grip on Spirou's shoulder, who took a deep and shaky breath. "To be honest with you, I really can't remember." Another shaky breath. "All I know is that I was attacked by something. But then, everything just went black I guess." " _His voice is so weak!"_ Fantasio was quiet for a bit, looking Spirou in the eyes. "Maybe the memories will come back." The redhead gave a hint of a smile, making Fantasio more at ease. "Well, do you remember you left me in the forest for no particular reason whatsoever?" Spirou shook his head, looking kind of hurt. "Well, doesn't matter, I made a camp. Good thing I did though." He looked at Spirou's wound, which was still bleeding. "Oh shoot, how could I forget! I have to bind that." Immediately he ripped off a piece of his shirt, good enough to function as bandage. "Sot still please, this might hurt." He tied the piece of cloth around Spirou's arm as carefully as he could, making sure he didn't touch the wound with his fingers. Tying is tightly enough for the bleeding to stop, but loosely enough that Spirou wasn't more uncomfortable. "Thanks…" Spirou's voice was still not more than a whisper. "No problem… really Spi, are you alright?" "Oh yeah, sorry, forgot to answer that question." He took a deep breath, looking at his arm for a moment. Then he looked at Fantasio at sighed. "Fantasio, don't worry, I'm okay." He lay his head back against the tree. Fantasio just looked at him, not convinced. Sighing as well, he let his head hang for a second. Running a hand over his face, he took a look at Spirou once again. "Well, let's go back to the camp alright. I can make a fire." He stood up. "Do you think you can walk?" Spirou nodded. When he tried to stand up though, he immediately fell back down, wincing as his arm hit the tree hard and a wave of pain went through his whole body. "I'll take that as a no." Fantasio said, wanting to lighten the mood a bit. He really didn't like seeing Spirou like this. Helping Spirou up, he lay the lads' uninjured arm around his shoulder for support. "I'm glad you're not that heavy Spi." He joked. Spirou could only manage a weak smile in return.

The way back to where Fantasio had made the campsite was long, and with Spirou, who was getting heavier by the second, it wasn't an easy trip.

Fantasio looked at the redhead. What he saw wasn't good. Spirou's head hung down and when Fantasio could get a climbs of his face, he was shocked to see that his expression was of extreme discomfort. Worried thoughts came back big time, and he stopped abruptly.

"Spirou? Are you still awake?" Spirou didn't answer right away, and when he did, it was only with a soft moan. Then he just went completely limb. Fantasio let out a gasp because of the surprise. He really didn't saw it coming. Together they fell to the forest ground, Fantasio falling half on the now unconscious redhead.

"Spirou! Spirou!?" he yelled in panic but without any response. "No, no, no!" he lay the unconscious lad on his back and looked him over again. He couldn't find anything new though… but then he noticed Spirou's bright red cheeks. "Oh no…" Placing him hand on the boy's forehead he gasped again. Spirou was burning up! How had he not noticed that!

Once again, Fantasio tried to wake Spirou up, but gave up after a few attempts. " _Better to get him back to the camp first."_ He picked Spirou up, very carefully and with his good arm against him so that it didn't cause any pain, and began to walk again.

They hadn't even reached the camp yet when Spirou was starting to wake up again. He watched the top of the trees above him, and wondered why they were all passing by. It actually took him awhile to figure out that he was being carried. Looking by whom, his heart melted when he saw the desperate look on Fantasio's face. The man never failed to surprise him.

"Hey…" he said softly to get the man's attention. Fantasio was startled to hear the whisper. "Hey welcome back." They were both silent for a while. Fantasio, who was still walking towards their camp, and Spirou, who was once again looking at the trees going by.

Finally, finally Fantasio saw the little camp he had made. He smiled brightly, walking the last few meters. Carefully, he lay Spirou against a tree that was nearest of the fireplace. Now all they needed was an actual fire. "Thank you." Spirou said again, looking at Fantasio as he was frantically looking around for something. "Really Spi, no problem." The blond went to a bag and grasped the lighter he had brought with him on their trip. "I'm going to make a fire. It's almost dark and whatever it was that attacked you, it is still out there." Spirou was still only watching, seeing how Fantasio was struggling to make a simple fire. But his hands just wouldn't be still! This whole thing with Spirou had had an immense pressure on him. Spirou knew that, he could see it as well. "Then… I'm going to look at your wound again and I will make some food… yes some food will be nice…" he was rambling. "Fantasio." Spirou said, stopping the panicked man from talking. Fantasio took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and let it out. He had stopped with the fire at the moment, letting his arms hang beside him. Spirou wanted to comfort his friend so much, but his vision was beginning to blur again, just like it had done while they had been walking. He watched as Fantasio began with the fire again, but he had to really concentrate not to black out again.

The last thing he saw though was Fantasio rushing to him with something in his hands, and a bright fire behind him.

 **Sooo, what did you think of this first chapter? Spirou is having a really hard time, I'm so sorry. I can say that it will be worse in the next few chapters though.  
I'm still rewriting it, and since I don't have that much time I can't really say when it will be here. But no worries, I will finish this story! **

**Oh, I've noticed that I missed a very important character in this chapter! I missed Spip! Well I will make sure he will be present in the next chapters.**

 **Thanks for reading :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**This was really fun to write. I notice that, since I am rewriting this, I was thinking new things to add in. it was really fun. I've also noticed that it takes me a bit more than a week to write a new chapter. So now that I know that, you can expect a new chapter every week. Now that is good news :)  
I'm sorry (not sorry) for what Spirou has to go through. It is the base of my story, really. So prepare for lots more torture for our beautiful redhead. Again, I'm sorry (not sorry). **

**Enjoy the story! And again, I don't own any of the characters. I do own the 'thing' though.**

Fantasio saw how Spirou fell into unconsciousness again, and having just started the fire, he rushed over with a blanket. Placing it around his now shivering friend, he didn't cover the large wound though.  
Looking at it, he noticed how the once white fabric was now completely red. "Oh no! I'm actually glad that you're out of it Spi, this really doesn't look good." He said, gently touching the areas around the thorn up flesh. It was, even in the dim light of the fire, bright red and really hot to the touch. "I have to clean it…" He said that ore to himself that to anyone else. Grabbing a clean shirt from his bag and his own flask of water, he began to clean the wound. _"Please stay asleep Spi… I don't want to hurt you."_

Unfortunately for the both of them, they weren't so lucky. Spirou hadn't even opened his eyes yet when he noticed the intense pain coming from his arm. Without knowing it himself, he tried to get away from the thing that was causing the pain, hoping it would leave him. It didn't though, so he opened his eyes with difficulty, and made a little noise as once again, the pain went through his whole shoulder.  
"Ssh, Spirou it's alright. I'm just cleaning your wound, it will be over soon." It was Fantasio. Of course it was Fantasio, who else could it be? He was sitting next to him with a cloth in his hands. "It is stinging because of the alcohol. I've found some in the emergency kit. Didn't know we had one. Not that there was anything in there of course… we should fill that thing when we get back."

Spirou made a little noise, looking at his arm Fantasio was working on. The wound looked like a sort of claw wound, and it frightened him to see how red it was, not only from the blood.

"It hurts." He said with a moan. He was never like this. He could handle pain, and a big amount of it for someone like him. But he just felt horrible! The wound, not only on his arm but on his side as well were throbbing, making him nauseous. A terrible headache had taken hold of him as well, which only added to the list of things to feel horrible about. Moving his leg, he noticed that something was lying around him. A blanket. That must have been the thing he saw Fantasio with before he fell asleep.

When Fantasio was done, he dressed the wound again with a clean piece of cloth. "So, that will do it. I've stitched up your arm. I'm actually really glad you didn't wake up then. The wound on your side didn't need stitches, luckily." He smiled. "You were really far gone Spi"

"Mmh…" Spirou wasn't really paying attention. Fantasio frowned and laid another, cold and wet cloth on the ginger's forehead.

Immediately, Spirou began to shiver uncontrollably, and he cried out. "Spirou!" Fantasio held Spirou's shoulder. "It's only water, try to relax." He made comforting circles on Spirou's shoulder with his thumb. "I… it's so… so cold." Spirou managed to say and he laid the blanket around him even more. Fantasio felt miserable himself, seeing his friend like that. "I know it's cold Spi, just try to relax.

It was hot that day. The sun was standing high above them, shining rays of light between the leafs, making the area look magical. It helped a bit with the humour of both men. Spirou couldn't do much. Most of the day he was sleeping. Fantasio didn't mind though, Spirou needed his rest and he knew it.

"Fantasio, what happened?" Spirou asked suddenly, when Fantasio came across him while searching for firewood. "What was that?" Spirou sighed, annoyed that the blond man hadn't heard him. "What happened? When you found me." He added. Fantasio was quiet for a moment. This was not the thing he wanted to talk about. Laying the wood on a pile, he sat on the ground. "Well… I don't know if you remember that you left me here in the forest?" Spirou shook his head slowly. "I don't know, you just went ahead and told me to stay here. So I did. For a very long time." Fantasio looking to the leaves at his feet. "You didn't come back and… I went looking for you. Spip was with you too." Spirou shot up. Spip! "Where is he!?" he almost yelled, looking very panicked. "Spirou, I'm sorry, but I don't know." Something changed in Spirou's eyes for a slip second. It seemed like anger. "You haven't even tried to find him, have you?" yes, there was definitely anger in his voice. Fantasio looked hurt. "Spirou…" "Maybe he is still out there by the place you've found me! Why didn't you look, you know he was with me."

"Because you were my first priority!" Fantasio snapped back. This made Spirou stunned, looking quit stupid. "You were my first priority Spi! You asked what had happened, will I found you! With blood covering half your body and for a time I didn't even know if you were alive. I had to do my best not to lose my calm."

"Fantasio…"

"So yeah, I haven't looked for Spip yet, I'm sorry."

Another silence. This one was very painful. Spirou was so guilty about blaming the blond man. He was trying so hard, he didn't deserve this. But Spip! That little squirrel meant so much to him, he couldn't stand the thought of losing him.

Fantasio was feeling horrible too, and it made him irritated. He should have looked for the small animal. Who knows what could have happened to him. And he knew how much Spip means to his friend. He should have searched for him. With a heavy sigh, he poked the wooden stick he was holding in the earth. Spirou looked at him, knowing that 'heavy sigh' all too well. "I know you did everything you could to bring me to safety. Thank you." Fantasio shrugged, pulling up his shoulders. "Nah, maybe I didn't do everything I could." Spirou hated not being able to stand up without falling, otherwise he would have walked right up to the older man and had hugged him. But he couldn't. "Spip can protect himself. He's a very smart squirrel that one." He gives Fantasio a smile. "And I'm sorry I snapped at you."

This time, Fantasio returned the smile. "Forgiven. I know you were just worried."

Spirou let himself fall back against the tree. It had been quite comfortable to lie against it. He lay on his good arm, with his legs beside him and the blanket still around him. Closing his eyes for a moment, he enjoyed the sun shining lightly on this pale face. "How are you feeling?" Fantasio asked. "I don't know."

That night, everything was quiet. No bad guys, no evil animals or monster. Nothing. Fantasio was glad. Spirou only seemed to get worse. His fever had gone up, despite everything Fantasio had done to lower it. The wounds weren't healing properly as well. He was shivering like a leaf and Fantasio noticed he was softly moaning in his sleep.

He hadn't even eaten anything when Fantasio had given it to him.

After a few hours after the sun had set, Fantasio fell asleep as well. It was nice to finally let his body rest. All that had happened had left him exhausted. He didn't dream that night either, unlike Spirou, who, unbeknown by Fantasio and Spip, had a horrible nightmare.

With a soft yell, he woke up. Sweat was dripping from his face, making his hair stick to his forehead. The fire was still burning brightly, which Spirou was actually really happy about. Seeing Fantasio sleeping on the other side of the fire was comforting. He didn't want to feel alone, especially not now.

A horrible feeling took hold of him. Clenching his teeth, he tried to make the nausea go away. Moving didn't make it any better either. Spirou found out. His breathing quickened and he just knew that he only had seconds.

Not so far away from the camp, a small animal run through the high bushes, clearly running from something. And that 'something' was not far either actually. The little squirrel looked around him quickly, searching for somewhere safe. _"Where are they? Where are they?"_ he thought in panic. He had been by Spirou's side all the day, but now he had lost him. How could he lose him! He felt stupid. " _No time to feel stupid, you need to find Spirou and Fantasio. And when they find out I managed all by myself, they will give me a treat I'm sure."_ He smiled at that thought. But the thing was still after him, and it was coming closer.

The thing was huge compared to how little Spip was, and it was fast too.

A light. Spip saw a light. " _Fire"_ He thought immediately. _"Where there's fire there is life. That must be the boys!"_ Running faster, Spip wanted nothing to jump into the arms of his friends and see that everything was alright. The change in the air changed his mind though. He could lead that 'thing' right to them, that would be stupid.

So, the only thing he could do, was being clever. With a quick turn he changed directions and was now walking away from the camp. The thing was sort of confused now, and was standing still, looking around slowly. Spip was too quick, running in a tree with unknown speed even he himself didn't know he had. Hiding in the leafs, he watched the thing. " _How irritating!"_ Now that he had a clear look at the thing, he could see absolutely nothing! Absolutely nothing! It the distance, the fire was still burning. " _Please, please don't see the fire."_ Spip thought. " _Just go away. Leave them alone…"_

 **Thank you so much for reading. The next chapter will, hopefully, be here next week. But since Christmas is here this week, it might be a bit longer. And since the next chapter will not be published before Christmas, I wish everyone of you a Merry Christmas! Have a wonderful time. I know I will have :) I can finally have a Christmas with my family again, that is really important for me.  
Again, thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**And Hello again, I'm going to say hello by every chapter I guess. First of all, sorry you had to wait for a while. Unfortunately there were many things in my personal life that really weren't going well. I had to work really hard on myself and things. But I don't want to bother you with that; it's not why you are here. Still though, it wasn't a month of waiting, so I'm kind of proud of myself for that.  
What I also want to tell you is that I have to fall back into the flow of this story… if you know what I mean. I really don't know how I want this story to go. Luckily I have a few things to go on.  
My apologies for making Spirou's life a living hell. Please forgive me. Enjoy reading, and remember, reviews are always welcome. **

Fantasio woke up to of a horrible sound. Looking around quickly, he saw Spirou sitting on his knees next to the tree Fantasio had laid him against that evening. And after cleaning his eyes, he noticed that his friend was emptying his stomach on the forest ground. It looked even worse that is sounded. What surprised Fantasio as well, was to see the little brown squirrel sitting next to his owner, looking extremely worried. Spip had gone with Spirou when they went to look further in the forest. He had seen what had attacked them, he had seen what it had done to Spirou. The shock and terror was still clear as day on the animal's small face.  
Spip, after the whole ordeal with whatever it was what was out there, had finally found his two favourite persons in the world after running for a long time. But when he finally reached the camp, he had been greeted by this sight.  
"Spirou!" Fantasio yelled, hysterically trying to get up, which wasn't easy with all the dry leafs around him. Spip however, noticed Fantasio. Immediately he ran to the blond man and began to speak, almost scream, wanting to tell his story of what happened to them. But Fantasio was more interested in the still heaving lad at the moment. " _Ow yeah of course, don't listen to me then. What do I care?"_ Spip looked annoyed at Fantasio since he had ignored him. For him, it was really important to tell the story! He had to tell!  
"Ssh, Spirou. Take it easy." Fantasio shushed the redhead, laying his hand on his shoulder. Spip's anger disappeared immediately when he heard that. He couldn't blame him for not listening to him, of course Spirou was more important right now. The story will come later.  
"Spi…" Another wave attacked Spirou's small body, leaving him coughing and heaving. His face was drenched in a layer of sweat, clearly visible in the light of the fire. His skin a concerning shades of grey, which was what Fantasio was looking at at the moment. His hand on Spirou's shoulder didn't move, making sure that it was giving comfort.  
Spirou however, now knowing Fantasio was looking at him, tried desperately to stop. But unfortunately his body didn't agree, making him feel worse. Fantasio soothed him as best as he could, and waited patiently for it to stop.

Finally, after way too long for Fantasio's liking, the attacks stopped, leaving the boy alone. But Spirou was exhausted, shaking violently and the wound on his arm was throbbing like crazy. Tears were falling down, making the shivers even worse.  
"Hey Spi… What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Fantasio wanted to whip the tears away. Spirou fell against him, not having the strength to sit on his own anymore. Fantasio held his best friend as he cried, waiting again until he was able to answer his question.  
"Why…" Began an almost non existing voice, "Why am I so sick?" Fantasio tightened his grip slightly. "I don't know Spi…" Spirou didn't stop crying for some time. He just let them fall, not caring what anyone thought. "But I am going to make sure you'll be better soon." This made Spirou smile a bit, despite the tears.  
Fantasio shifted so that Spirou could lie against the tree again. "No Fantasio, please… let me lie against you… please." He sounded so small, so vulnerable. Fantasio sighed, how could he let go of Spirou now? But his fever had to be brought down, so he had to. "I am sorry, but I have to do something about your fever. You are burning." He laid Spirou against the tree while the lad said; "That's weird, it's c…cold." Fantasio's mind was racing and all over the place, Spirou was really out of it. _"He would know that it is normal to feel cold when you have a fever. Is he ailing?"_ While he was lost in his thoughts, Spirou had closed his eyes, almost falling asleep. Fantasio gave the sleeping boy a worried look while trying to keep it all together as well.  
Spip, who had watches his two humans with great sadness, drew a bit closer. They didn't deserve to go through all of this… but yet here they were. Slowly, the little squirrel scooped up to Spirou, making himself comfortable by the lad's side. Half hidden between his side and his arm. Before he went to sleep however, he watched as Fantasio replaced the cloth on Spirou's forehead.  
The cold sent new shivers through Spirou's body, making his breath hitch.  
"That's r..really not nice of y..ou." Spirou said through clenched teeth. "Well, it's necessary." Spirou snorted, starting to fall asleep for real now while stroking Spip's soft fur.

The next day, when the sun was just beginning to rise, Spirou was the first to wake up. Looking around, he panicked a bit when he couldn't see Fantasio. He also jumped when the cloth fell before his eyes. Spip woke up as well, but stayed where he was, not wanting to scare the poor lad even more.  
Spirou relaxed quickly when he found Fantasio practically next to him. Fantasio was sleeping soundly, lying against the same tree. Spirou smiled seeing the blond. His mouth was slightly open and the long plucks of hair were hanging over his face. Still smiling, he looked around, he could see more clearly now, so that was a good sign. "Hello Spip, where did you come from buddy?" He scratched the squirrel behind his ear. Spip smiled brightly, glad his human was feeling better. "I'm so sorry Spip, you must have been so worried." Making a happy noise, Spip jumped on Spirou's shoulder and hugged his cheek. The wonderful thing was, Spirou started laughing too! This woke Fantasio, this time without panic. He saw his two friends hugging each other. Now that is the best way to wake up. "Hey." Said Fantasio with a smile. "Hello, how did you sleep?" Spirou asked, stopping with snuggling Spip, who was now lying on his shoulder. "Good…" Fantasio said quickly. "How are you feeling?" That question was, in Fantasio's position, more important than telling how well he had slept.  
Spirou looked at the place where the fire had been burning and thought about an answer. "Well… I don't really know. I feel better though. And my sight is better."  
"Mmh…" Fantasio placed his hand on Spirou's forehead again. "You still have a fever. Plus you don't really look good."  
"Thanks." Spirou looked a bit annoyed now. Fantasio sighed. "What I mean is, Spi… I'm really worried about you. I don't want you to do things too quickly." By the tone of Fantasio's voice, Spirou looked at him, knowing how important it was to listen. Fantasio's expression was very serious, his eyes big and his mouth was a thin line. "Fantasio," Spirou wanted to calm him down, but he didn't get the change. "Your fever was so dangerously high yesterday Spi! And it is still very clearly visible as well. Not to mention that wound! Spirou… that wound…" The older man fell silent, looking at his best friend with tears prickling behind his eyes. "Fantasio, I'm feeling better." "That's just because you just woke up. In a few hours your fever will go up, and you will feel horrible again." Spirou sighed. "Always the optimistic guy huh." But Spirou knew that he was right. He was still far from health. Fantasio was offended though. "Spirou! I've taken care of you before, remember? It will always be worse, and you know that." Spirou looked at his hands. "I'm sorry, you're right. And I know this is hard for you." Fantasio ran a hand over his face. "Don't worry, I'm glad you are feeling better." Spip looked between the two, not knowing what to think. On the one hand, he wanted to stand up for Spirou. He was feeling better right? Why being so stoic about it? But then again, Fantasio looked so hurt. Spip hadn't been there when Fantasio had found Spirou, but seeing the normally serious and slightly panicked man near tears was a clear sign that it had been horrible. So Spip couldn't blame him either. _"Then who to blame? This is so confusing."_

 **There it is. I have to rewrite the next chapter so that will take a few days. I'm working on it though ;) so that is good.  
Thank you all for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, I said a few days, turned out to be yet another month or so. A month! How time flies. Enjoy this extra-long chapter.**

"Well, I think it is a good idea to get out of this forest. Then we can go home." Fantasio stood up and began packing. "I don't think you will get better any time soon if we stay here." Spirou looked down. "We have to leave some stuff behind though, so that I can carry you."  
"Carry me?"  
"Well yes, you aren't going to walk now, are you?" Spirou didn't know what to say to that. He knew Fantasio was right. He couldn't walk on his own, and he felt horrible because of that fact. "I think I will only take the food and bedrolls with me." Fantasio said, more to himself. "Alright, what about all the other stuff?" "Leave it here. I can only take one backpack with me now, so." "But you love that stuff! Can't we find a way to…"  
"You are more important to me, Spirou." Again, the redhead went silent. Fantasio went on with his task, not saying anything either.  
"How are you going to carry me?" Spirou asked quietly. "I don't know yet. But we can come up with something."

The packing took longer than expected though. Because Fantasio did love everything he took with him on his journeys, he really didn't know what to leave behind. Spirou could only watch. He hated it. He hated doing nothing at all. He felt helpless and that was one of the only feelings he truly despised.  
They decided to have something to eat. They haven't had that in a long time. But unfortunately, Spirou's body wasn't agreeing with food yet, and not a half hour later, he was throwing it all out again, leaving his gasping and really tired. Spip had hid somewhere, not wanting to see the horrible scene again.  
"That wasn't a good idea right?" Fantasio said when Spirou was done. "No, not really." Despite how horrible he felt, he laughed a bit. It was odd actually. He laid his head against the tree. "When do you want to go, by the way?" "I don't know. Maybe it is a better idea to leave early tomorrow morning. If that's okay with you." "I'm okay with everything. It's you who has to carry me." This time, it was Fantasio who laughed. "That's true." Shifting himself to sit in a more comfortable position, he closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Tomorrow it is then. I mean, we have enough water and food, so we will be good." Spirou made a little noise at the word food. "Just water for me please." Luckily, the nausea quickly disappeared this time.

"We can stay here."Spip's lazy brain needed a few seconds to process. " _Staying here?... what?... no!... We can't stay here! Why did I forget? Stupid Spip. I have to warn them, I have to warn them!"_ In a state of panic, he began to scream to the two persons.  
"Wow Spip, what's the matter?" Fantasio raised himself up from the tree he was still lying against. Spip tried so hard to tell his story, but unfortunately, he was only a squirrel and they couldn't really understand him. Frustrated, he threw his paws in the air. "Spip, what are so worried about? Can't you show us?" Spirou asked calmly. Spip thought about that for a moment. He couldn't really 'show' it to them. But he could mimic it. With great effort the little squirrel tried to mimic the monster he'd seen. Fantasio had to laugh, but Spirou really wanted to figure out what Spip was trying to say. "Did you see something in the woods?" Spip nodded hysterically. "Alright, was it big?" Spirou asked when he saw that Spip held his paws above his head. But when Spip shook his head, he didn't know anything else. So Spip tried something else. "Ooh! It is scary looking?" Again, Spip nodded.  
"Wait, if I get this right… than what you are trying to say is that there is something out there, that is very 'scary looking'." Spip nodded again, putting his arms over each other. "I can't believe this, this just keeps getting better, isn't it?" "Fantasio… do you think that this is what attacked me?" Spirou's voice was really quiet. "Wha… Spirou come on…" Fantasio looked at the younger lad. The usually happy expression, which was already covered with fever, was now also showing fear.  
"Spirou…" "Fantasio, what if what Spip is saying is true, then it must be the thing that attacked me."  
" _Of course it is true!"_ Spip thought annoyed. "What it finds us? What if it will hurt you too?" Spirou's eyes were filled with panic now, and he gripped Fantasio's sleeve tightly. "Hey, hey relax. Spirou, relax." He helplessly watched as Spirou tried to do what he had said. "Fantasio, Spip must be right, it is still out there. Maybe it wasn't just a normal beast like I thought it was." A shiver went through his body. "Okay that's it. Spirou you are beginning to panic, I need you to calm down." Looking at Spirou, Fantasio knew that the redhead wasn't going to do that. Standing up, he walked to grab his flask of water. Spip jumped on Spirou's shoulder, feeling very guilty. He didn't know that it would trigger so much fear by the young lad. _"Ow Spirou, I am so sorry. Stop being scared now please."_ He slightly pressed his paws against Spirou's trembling shoulder. "Spip…" Spirou said softly. He gave a faint smile and didn't even flinch when Fantasio laid the cold, wet cloth on his head again. He also got an extra blanket. "Don't worry Spip, it is not your fault." He petted the animals' head. "But we will still leave tomorrow."  
"But what if it finds us?" "It hasn't! how long have we been here, a few days or so? If it would find us he would have done so already." Walking away to the other side of the camp, he sat down on the leaves. Spirou hugged the blanket Fantasio had given him. For some odd reason, his wounds began to burn again. he took a deep breath and tried not to notice it. " _Fantasio is right… if it would find us, it would have done so already. Everything will be alright, everything will be alright."_ He let his head hang and buried his face. " _Everything will be alright."_  
Fantasio watched as Spirou disappeared further and further into the blankets, taking Spip with him. " _I made the right decision. It will not find us, I'm sure of it."_ Above him, a bird began to sing. " _Everything will be alright."_

"Spirou, are you asleep?"  
"No."  
"Why not? You should be asleep."  
"My arm hurts…"  
"Should I take a look at it?"  
"No."  
Silence. Fantasio stared at the stars above him. He was lying on his back, with his arm under his head for support. Spirou was still in the same spot, across the camp. A fire was burning again, which was good because it was pretty cold.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yes Fantasio, just go to sleep."  
Silence.  
"On a scale of one to ten, how much does it hurt?"  
"…14." "Spirou!" Fantasio sat up immediately and looked at the lad. Spirou was tangled up in his blankets, arms wrapped around his body. Despite the cold, sweat was forming on his forehead. Sighing, Fantasio stood up and crouched in front of the redhead. Tired eyes stared back at him. "Let me take a look at it." "Just go back to sleep please. It just hurt, nothing more." "Let. me. see." Not waiting for an answer, Fantasio pulled the blankets away. Spirou protested weakly, but didn't succeed. "Stay still, I have to make sure that it is not infected." Pulling up the red shirt, he carefully removed the bandages. It didn't take him long to see that the wounds were, in fact, infected. It was red and hot to the touch. "I'm sorry…" Spirou said. He sounded so small! "Did you know about this?" Fantasio asked a bit shocked. "I had my suspicions. I didn't know it was this bad though." "Spirou…" Fantasio sighed, running a hand over his face while he thought. "I have to clean it. Like really clean it. You're not going to like it." Spirou didn't say anything on that. "Spirou!" "Yes, alright. You can clean it, I don't mind." Walking to the other side of the camp again to get the things he needed, he shook his head. " _Stubborn."_

The cleaning of both the wounds was indeed really unpleasant. And it cost them much of their water. "I am sorry Spi. But it's over for now. I've cleaned it as best as I could."  
"Thanks." Spirou was slightly out of breath. The cleaning had hurt very badly. "I don't want you to hold things from me you know. Especially if it has to do with your health. Why did you even do that?" "I don't know. Really. I don't think I even did it on purpose. I guess it just slipped my mind." Fantasio snorted. "Sorry…" "What was on your mind then?" "Oh I don't know… just thinking." "Mmh." Fantasio sat down next to the younger lad.  
After a few minutes of staring into the fire, Spirou was the first to break the silence. "Do you really think we are safe here?" "Yes." "The why do I have the feeling we're not?" "I think because you're scared." Spirou thought about that. "Yeah, that must be it." Fantasio shifted in a more comfortable position. "Try to get some sleep, Spi. We will leave when the sun comes up." Spirou did as he was cold, but as before, sleep just wouldn't come to him. Fantasio however, was sleeping peacefully already.

Seconds became minutes, and still Spirou couldn't find the rest he needed. With every sound, he jumped, adrenaline going through him. He was getting very frustrated by this. Why was he so jumpy? He had slept in forests more times that he had slept in his actual bed, why was he so scared now? Was it because of Spip's warning? Probably. Where was Spip anyway? He hadn't been in his spot by his side for quite some time now. _"Maybe he is around here somewhere."_ He thought. "Spip!" He whispered, but there was no answer. "Spip!" This time a little louder. Fantasio didn't wake up for it though. "Spip, where are you?" Still no answer. _"What if something has happened to him?"_ Was the first thing that crossed his mind. But right then, Spip walked by, like nothing was wrong. Spirou let out a breath he had been holding in. But knowing Spip for his whole life, he immediately saw that something was wrong. The little squirrel was not only scarred, he was downright terrified. He grabbed Spirou's leg, looked his in the eyes, and pointed to somewhere. "What is it Spip?" Looking at where the little animal was pointing at, he couldn't see anything. "There's nothing there, Spip. Maybe you imagined something." Petting Spip's head to comfort him. Spip however, wasn't having that. He began to tuck at Spirou's jeans. "Than what is it?" Spip kept tugging though. And right then, Spirou saw what Spip was warning him about. A tall figure was standing at the other side of the camp, in the shadows that is.  
"Fantasio…" Slowly, Spirou reached for his friend, afraid that is he moved too quickly, the figure would attack. "Fantasio, wake up…" No response. "Please, Fantasio, please wake up!" Pure terror could be heard in his voice now, as the figure began to move forward slowly. "Fantasio, Wake up!" Looking over to his sleeping companion, he began to shake him roughly, despite the pain in caused him. "Wha… what is it?" Fantasio asked, eyes half open from the sleep. "It's here! Fantasio, it's here!" Pointing to where the figure had appeared.  
Now fully awake, Fantasio looked to where Spirou was pointing, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. In fact, the only thing he could see was that the fire was going out. Spirou saw it now too. "What? No…" Shivers went through his body. How could the figure be gone? It was just there a second ago! "No no no, it was here. Fantasio, it was standing right there!" "Spi, were you dreaming?" Fantasio asked, leaning back against the tree now that they weren't in danger anymore. "Dreaming? No! Spip came to warn me, and it was standing on the other side of the fire." Fantasio looked at his friend with concern and a bit of annoyance. "Spirou, I think that the warning of Spip earlier this evening is going to your head. There is nothing here." "I know what I saw!" Spirou was getting frustrated again. Nothing made sense anymore. The only thing what was keeping his thoughts right, was Spip, who was at his side with an understanding look. "Spip saw it too, didn't you buddy." He said softy, keeping the little squirrel close to him. Fantasio sighed, holding his arms over each other. "There is nothing here Spi. And I suggest you go back to sleep now, you really need your strength back." "I can't sleep…" Was the little response he got in return.

Sleep eventually did come though, and Spirou was finally floating towards sleep, hands pressed against his burning wound in his side. It had been burning for a while now, but unfortunately it hadn't gone away. _"Fantasio should have a look at it in the morning."_ He though, his eyes already closed.  
Abruptly, Spirou was pulled out his slumber again. _"Screw sleep, apparently I have to stay awake this night!"_ He thought angrily. But the sounds that had awoken him pierced his ears again, and it would defiantly haunt him for some time. Fantasio was screaming! Jumping upright, Spirou looked around quickly. Fantasio was lying on his back, a bit further away from the tree. He was clearly struggling against something. "Fantasio!" Spirou stood up, but a wave of pain went through him, sending his back to the ground. He grabbed at his side and arm and gritted his teeth, preventing a scream that was threatening to come out. The pain throbbed, and he had to do his best to prevent from falling over. However, Fantasio was still in need. Setting his pain aside, he stood up once again. his thin legs were shaking badly, but he managed to get to Fantasio. When he was about two feet away however, he froze. Two large eyes were watching him, and it was holding Fantasio is a sort of death grip. "Spirou! Get out of here!" Fantasio said. "Or maybe save me first and then go, if you see the chance." The figure attacked again, leaving Fantasio fighting again. Spirou stepped forward. No way he was going to leave his friend! He saw the chance, he was going to save the blond. At least… he would try.

Pulling all his strength together, he threw himself at the figure, sending it to the ground. Fantasio backed away, and was quickly with getting to his feet. He was at Spirou's side in a heartbeat, getting the trembling man away from the figure. The figure was tall, and it looked like a human. Only, it wasn't really human at all. It was covered with thick, black fur which was covered with a sort of jelly substance. "Are you okay?" Spirou asked once he was standing again. he leaned heavily against Fantasio though. "I'm okay Spi… I'm more worried about you!" Spirou had no time to answer. The figure was standing up again, and was angry. "We have to go." Fantasio said, walking backwards with Spirou with him. "We have to go now. Spip, come along now." Spip jumped on Fantasio's shoulder. "Spi, can you walk?" "I think so…" "Well, no thinking! Run!" They ran.

 **I had louds of fun writing this! I can't say how long the next chapter will take though. I will not make any promises because I know I will forget them eventually. I am not good with deadlines. The next chapter will be here the second it's done! How a wonderful day/evening/night, whatever.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Enjoy!**

Everything was a blur around him. All he knew was that he had to run. Spirou was running next to him at the same pace. How? He didn't know. Probably because of the adrenaline.  
The figure was still running after them. Fantasio hated that that thing didn't make any sound. You could only hear the leaves and bushes around it as it moved. _"Does that thing even breathe?"_ He thought.  
But right then, his foot was caught in something, and he almost fell. _"Alright, no time to think. Just run!"_

Spirou was breathing fast, desperate to fill his lungs with as much air as he could. He thought it was quite funny that he was actually running. He knew it was possible for a human body to do that in life-threatening situations, he'd just never imagined he would ever experience it himself.  
A quick look behind him and he knew that the Figure wouldn't leave them alone for a long time. _"Damn it."  
_ He looked at Fantasio, and his breath hitched when Fantasio almost fell.  
"Are you okay?" He asked as he ran next to the blond. "Yeah, don't worry about me. You just concentrate on the running, alright." Spirou nodded once and looked forward again.

The running went on for some time, and Spirou was getting it harder to focus on it. His legs were getting heavier, and his vision began to blur around the outlines.  
"Fantasio…" He said. He wanted Fantasio to know that his body was beginning to fail him. "Fantasio!" He managed to say a bit louder. Spip heard him, and poked Fantasio in the cheek. "What is it, Spip?" Pointing to Spirou, Fantasio immediately knew what was wrong. "Can you go on Spi?" He asked worriedly. "I have to." Spirou said between deep breaths. Fantasio looked behind him. The figure was far gone now, but not completely. "We have almost lost him! You can do this Spirou, I believe in you!" Spirou looked in Fantasio's eyes for a moment, and nodded. Fantasio did slow down a bit though, which Spirou was very thankful about.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the figure was gone. Fantasio slowly began to run slower, and slower, until they had stopped. His legs were shaking, and his breathing was very fast. He doubled over, with his hands on his upper legs to try and control his breathing.  
"Did we lose it?" He asked when his body allowed it. "Did we? Spirou?" He didn't get any answer back, so he looked behind him, his hands still on his legs. "Spirou? Spirou!"  
Spirou was lying face down on the ground, his injured arm in a very awkward way. Spip was already trying to get a response out of him, but to no avail. "Oh no…" Fantasio ran to the redhead so fast, he almost tripped again. "Please be okay, please be okay…" He quickly turned Spirou on his side and looked him over. But there wasn't anything new that he could see. His wounds were still there, and he was pale, but all that was just like before. Lifting Spirou's upper body so the lad could lie in his arms, Fantasio sighed, and let his head fall. "Hello…" Fantasio's head snapped back up. Two very tired eyes were looking at him. A smile formed around Spirou's lips as he saw Fantasio's expression. "Spirou! Spirou we made it, we've lost that thing!" Fantasio said, too happy to see Spirou awake to pay any attentions to the other signs that were showing. "That's great, Fantasio…" Spirou's breathing was speeding up. His grip on Fantasio's arm loosened, and he made a pained noise.  
"Spi, what's wrong? What is happening?" Spirou was too weak to answer. His eyes were starting to close again. "Spirou, stay awake. I need you to stay awake." Fantasio said firmly, shaking the redhead. "Stay with me, can you do that?" Spirou opened his eyes, which was very difficult to do. A small nod was all Fantasio needed. "Try to keep talking Spi, I know you can do that. I need you to do that.."  
"I will… try…" The shaking continued, and his breathing was still quick and shallow, but he tried at least. Until the pain shot through him again. His whole body tensed up, and he let out a cry. "Your hand…" He said through clenched teeth. Fantasio looked at his hands. One was holding Spirou around his shoulders, but the other one was on the lad's wound. Quickly removing his hand, he saw that it was covered in blood. The wound had started bleeding again due to the running! Why hadn't he noticed that before? Fantasio could slap himself for not noticing it. " _That's why his breathing is so shallow!"_ He thought, " _It's blood loss! Why didn't I think about that earlier, of course it is blood loss."_ He placed Spirou on the ground and took the bandages off from his side, as well as those around his arm. The wound on Spirou's side was bleeding more than his arm though. _"Probably from the movements. How did he manage to run in this condition anyway?"_ Again, he pulled strings of cloth from his shirt, so that he had a clean cloth to wrap around the wounds. But when he wanted to dress the side-wound, he discovered that they didn't have their luggage with them… and in those were the bandages he needed.  
He slammed on the ground with his fists, cursing as he did so. He had nothing! No clothes, no food, nothing. So he had no other option. With a swift motion, Fantasio took off his jacket, and then his shirt, which he would use as bandage. With difficulty, he tied it around Spirou's middle. "Still hanging in there?" He asked when Spirou had to do his best not to scream. When the redhead was lying on his back again, he was breathing heavily through his nose. He nodded though, with the weakest smile. Fantasio put his jacket back on. "Fan...Fantasio, now you… will be cold." Spirou said softly. Fantasio gave him a genuine smile in return. "Don't you worry about me. I will manage as well." They were both silent for a few minutes. Spirou's breathing didn't improve however, but it didn't get any worse either. Fantasio still didn't like it though. Every sound he heard, his body jumped. _"Maybe this is how Spi had felt when he couldn't sleep."_ "Spirou, we should get out of here. I don't know if that thing will come back." Spirou didn't answer. Immediately a wave of panic flowed through Fantasio's body. " _Relax, Fantasio, maybe he is just asleep."_ He thought, " _But if he is asleep, he might not wake up again!"_ The earlier attempts to conceal the panic were now in no avail, because it came back big time when that thought crossed his mind.  
"Spirou!" Fantasio laid Spirou in his lap again, his arms around his shoulders. "Spirou, don't fall asleep. You promised me you wouldn't fall asleep." He began to rock back and forth a bit. The feeling of panic was so intense now, that Fantasio felt like he was at the point of a panic attack. "I'm sorry I didn't talk to you to keep you awake, Spi. Please wake up!" The wounds were still bleeding. The shirt he had tied around Spirou's middle was already a dark shade of red. "Please Spi…" But Spirou remained motionless. His breathing was still laboured, and he was shaking a little. Fantasio wanted to scream. He felt so hopeless.  
Spip had placed his little paws on Spirou's leg. He didn't dare to go to Fantasio right now.  
A sound was what got Fantasio out of his panicked state. It came from behind him, and he and Spip both reacted instantly. "What was that Spip?" Fantasio whispered. Spip looked at the point where the sound came from with big, fearful eyes.

The little squirrel ran up to Fantasio's shoulder, and pulled at the man's ear. "What is it!?" Fantasio asked annoyed. He hated when someone touched his ear. Spip pointed at Spirou. The sound they had heard had also reached the unconscious lad's mind and had woken him up. "Oh dear, Spirou." Spirou's eyes were open, and even though they were glassed over with fever, they looked scared. His mouth began to move, like he was trying to speak. But so sound came. Fantasio felt Spirou's hand tighten around his arm.  
"Fa…Fan…"  
"Ssh, don't speak Spi, I've got you. Just stay with me, I will get us out of here."  
With a bit of help from Spirou himself and Spip, Fantasio managed to carry Spirou on his back. Spirou's head was lying on his left shoulder, and his arms were around his neck. Fantasio did have a bit of trouble with his balance in the first few meters though, almost falling again. " _Hold your ground Fantasio! Get going, why are you just stumbling around?"_ Spip thought as he was holding himself with Fantasio's hair. With a desperate sigh, Fantasio began to walk, even though it was slower than when he started. "Hold on Spi, just hold on…" He said under his breath. Spirou smiled a little as he vaguely heard Fantasio's words.

Spip and Fantasio felt like they had been walking for days. But Fantasio knew that that was not the case, the sun hadn't set yet. _"Maybe around 4 hours of something? I didn't even know we were so deep in the forest already before all this happened."_ He shook his head a bit to clear it from the thoughts. _"At some point we will reach the end of this forest… I'm sure of it."_  
Spip was still lying on Fantasio's head. He was sleepy and was looking very bored. _"This forest will never end, I'm sure of it."_

"Look Spirou, a wire." Fantasio said curiously. Even though Spirou hadn't made a noise for quite some time now, Fantasio still talked to him. The wire was very noticeable between all the green and brown. It was also very unnatural, something Fantasio really thought he wouldn't find in the middle of a forest. "What do you think, Spip?" The little squirrel stretched once and looked at the wire as well. "We will follow it, Spip. It's our only lead to the civilized world." Spip nodded. It was actually the only good idea he had heard in a long time. "Spi, how lucky are we that we have found this! But… which way to go?" _"What does it matter? Either way we will come out somewhere. By the way, don't go back! I don't know if you remember, but there is a man slashing monster out there."_ Spip lay back down, his little paws stretched out in front of him. Fantasio seemed to realise this as well. Shifting Spirou a bit so his back wouldn't go to sleep, he stepped further, following the wire.

The wire went on and on, and sometimes it went up into a tree, so that Fantasio had to find it again. It also didn't go in a straight line. One time, when it came down from a tree, it went 90 degrees in the other direction, and so on. It felt to Fantasio that he was walking in a huge maze, and that he was following the path of crumbs, just like in the story of _Hansel and Gretel._  
" _Told you."_ Thought Spip, who had grown tired of lying on Fantasio's head and was now walking behind him. " _This forest will never end."_  
But of course, right when he thought that, Fantasio noticed that the trees were beginning to standing further apart from each other. "Look Spirou, Spip! I think we have finally found the edge of the forest. Could it be?" Because he himself couldn't run, Spip ran a bit further to look if it really was the end of the tree maze.  
And it was. Spip was standing on the edge of a foothill, which looked over a valley. The little squirrel was so happy that he jumped into the air, his little paws above his head. "We did it Spip." Said Fantasio, who looked over the valley and enjoyed the cool wind on his face. Even Spirou took a deep breath in his sleep. " _That's a good sigh, at least his body is aware enough of his surroundings."_

"Hey Spip, do you see what I see?" Fantasio asked, still looking to the valley below him. Spip looked up at him and shook his head. "I see a village." Fantasio gave the squirrel a bright smile. "That's where the wire goes, I think. And a village means help! And help is just what we need."

 **I will start with the next chapter soon. But there will be at least one week that I am not able to write. Me and my school class are going to Berlin for a whole week!  
'Till then, take it easy, and thank you very much for reading.**


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